Payne Farm
Josh Payne has transformed the Payne family farm in Concordia, Missouri, with innovative and sustainable practices. After leaving his high school teaching job, Payne returned to the farm and adopted cover crops as an alternative to herbicides due to allergies. He also shifted from cattle to sheep, a decision influenced by insights from a farming conference and economic advice from a banker.
Now raising 1,000 sheep, Payne practices rotational grazing, moving them to fresh paddocks every three days to prevent parasite growth without pesticides. The system includes portable shades and self-regulating watering troughs to ensure efficiency and animal welfare. He credits the sheep’s adaptability, noting their preference for weeds, which supports pasture recovery and regrowth.
Josh Payne closes the electric fence after 1,000 sheep pass through to a fresh paddock on Tuesday Sept. 3, 2024, at the Payne family farm in Concordia, Mo. Payne says that moving 1,000 sheep from paddock to paddock is easier than moving a small number.
Josh Payne drives from the farm house to the sheep pasture as he describes his journey from teaching high school in Concordia, Mo., to returning to the Payne family farm, also in Concordia, and his discovery of cover crops as an alternative to the herbicides to which he is allergic on Tuesday Sept. 3, 2024.
Jordan Welch tows a portable shade into position for sheep on Tuesday Sept. 3, 2024, at the Payne family farm in Concordia, Mo. Moving sheep paddock to paddock prevents compaction of soil, which maintains healthy pasture grasses.
Josh Payne returns to his truck after unhooking a portable shade he towed to a fresh pasture where the sheep will graze for three days, then move again Tuesday Sept. 3, 2024, at the Payne family farm in Concordia, Mo. Payne, who had once thought of raising cattle, switched to sheep upon suggestion at a farming conference, then confirmed by a banker he met at a fencing supplier who elaborated on the economics of cattle versus sheep.
Sheep explore their new paddock on Tuesday Sept. 3, 2024, at the Payne family farm in Concordia, Mo., Josh Payne moves the 1,000 sheep at least every three days to keep ahead of the parasite growth cycle, which is also three days, so that in four years of raising sheep he has not had to use pesticides.
Josh Payne places and fills a watering trough for his 1,000 sheep he moved to a new paddock on the pasture on Tuesday Sept. 3, 2024, at the Payne family farm in Concordia, Mo. Payne is able to leave the water on and walk away since the spigot connects to a toilet bowl float arm which will stop the water when full and open when sheep or evaporation lower the water level.
Josh Payne closes and adjusts the electric fence keeping in 1,000 sheep in a new paddock in the pasture, Tuesday Sept. 3, 2024, at the Payne family farm in Concordia, Mo. “Sheep like weeds. They’re not picky,” said Payne about moving the sheep around the pasture, practically the entire farm, to give the grass time to begin to regrow on the third day after a nibble from a passing sheep.
Josh Payne points to the distant reaches of the Payne family farm, Tuesday Sept. 3, 2024, in Concordia, Mo., where he plans to plant 10,000 walnut trees over the next three years. This took much time in convincing Payne’s grandfather, who owns the farm, of their ecological and economic benefit. Payne said, “His phrase was, I spent my whole life tearing out trees. We're not gonna go plant them now.”
Josh Payne pours a bucket of grains for the pigs on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, at the Payne family farm in Concordia, Mo. Payne hopes to produce quality meat by consistently feeding the pigs quality foods such as tomatoes and squash.
Josh Payne exits the shed where he grows micro grains with a tray of sprouts to feed his the pigs on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, at the Payne family farm in Concordia, Mo. Growing the sprouts in trays allows Payne to monitor their growth and quality and makes it easy to transport from shed to pig pen.